BFMPR Gadsden County SD - Chapter 2 Management …

Management Structures

Summary ______________________________________________________

The Gadsden County School District is using 12 of 14 of the best practices in management structures. The school board and superintendent have policies and procedures in place to ensure the district is effectively run and oversee its financial resources. The district has reviewed its administrative staffing levels, given principals sufficient authority to manage their schools, considered options to increase revenues, involved the community in decision making, and developed a system to accurately project enrollment. To use the remaining best practice standards, the district should prioritize the goals and objectives in its strategic plan, ensure that all strategic plan objectives are measurable, and annually review progress towards achieving strategic plan goals and objectives. The district also should develop links between the strategic plan and its budgeting process.

Background ___________________________________________________

The Gadsden County School District's has both an elected superintendent and an elected five-member board. School board members are elected from single member districts to a four-year term. Two members are elected at the time of the presidential general election, and three are elected at the time of the gubernatorial general election.

The district has a relatively new board, with only one member elected before 1998. The two newest members were elected for their first term in 2002 and the third new member was elected in 2000. The remaining two members were recently reelected in 2000 and 2002. Exhibit 2-1 shows the length of time board members have served.

Exhibit 2-1 Most Board Members Are Serving in Their First or Second Term

Board Member

Tenure

Roger P. Milton

Elected for first term in 2000, up for reelection in 2004

Isaac Simmons

Elected for first term in 1998, reelected in 2002, up for reelection 2006

Catherine S. James

Elected for first term in 1992, reelected in 2000, up for reelection in 2004

Judge B. Helms, Jr. Charlie D. Frost

Elected for first term in 2002, up for reelection in 2006 Elected for first term in 2002, up for reelection in 2006

Source: Gadsden County School District.

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The current superintendent, Sterling DuPont, was elected in 2000. He is a native of the district and graduated from high school in Gadsden County. He previously served as a teacher in Gadsden County School Districts and also held the positions of teacher, assistant principal, principal, and district officer in the Broward County School District. He was also the Florida Department of Education State of Florida Resident Principal from 1994-1996. The superintendent holds a master's degree in education from Florida Atlantic University and certifications from the Superintendent Chief Executive Officer Leadership Development Program. The superintendent is the chief executive and administrative officer of the board and, as such, is responsible for organizing the district's administration. Exhibit 2-2 illustrates the current district-level administrative structure. The district's school-level administration is limited to the principals and assistant principals of the district's eight elementary schools, including the Midway Magnet School, two middle schools (grades 6 to 8), two high schools (grades 9 to 12), two combination middle and high schools (grades 7 to 12), one alternative school (which includes two off-site programs), and one vocational technical school (which provides courses in Quincy and at Florida State Hospital). 1

Exhibit 2-2 The Gadsden County School District's Administrative Structure Includes the School Board, a Superintendent, a Deputy Superintendent, Two Assistant Superintendents, and a Facilities Director

Gadsden County School Board

School Board Attorney

Superintendent of Schools

Specialist Public Relations

Administrative Assistant to Superintendent and Board

Executive Secretary to Superintendent

and Board

Deputy Superintendent of Schools and

Instructional Services

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance

? Instructional PK-12

? School Food Services

? Instructional Media

? Exceptional Student Education

? English Speakers of Other

Languages

? Adult and Vocational Education

? Guidance and Health Services

? Grants, School Choice, Title I

? Transportation

? Data Processing

Source: Gadsden County School District.

Facilities Director

1 Gadsden County also has one charter school for grades K to 8. Subsequent to our field work, the district consolidated two of its high schools into one.

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The Gadsden County School District joined the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC) on June 30, 2001. The district is planning to use some of the PAEC member services in the future. PAEC is an educational consortium of 13 members and 8 participating school districts located across Florida's panhandle. 2 The consortium's board of directors is composed of the superintendent from each member district. The board of directors appoints an executive director who administers PAEC's day-to-day operations. The PAEC board, in consultation with its administrators, selects the services the consortium will provide. The purpose of the consortium is to provide common administrative services in a way that maximizes economies of scale to minimize the cost of these services for each member and participating school district. PAEC provides more than 20 administrative services including cooperative purchasing, risk management, data processing and Management Information Systems (MIS), professional development, grant procurement and coordination, and strategic planning. Each school district has the option of participating in any or all of the consortium's services or programs. Member districts receive most of these services at little or no charge (the state provides funding that is significantly subsidized by federal, state, and private grants), while participating districts pay fees for services.

Issues Affecting District Finances

As Exhibit 2-3 illustrates, the district's General Fund or operating revenues declined over the last three years while the capital project fund and total revenue have increased. The decrease in the General Fund (12% between Fiscal Years 2000-01 and 2002-03) was associated with declining student enrollment. During this period, the district experienced a 6% decline in enrollment, (a reduction of 402 students, see Exhibit 2-4). Gadsden County School District administrators reported that parents transferred their children to schools in neighboring school districts because they believed there were too many disruptive students in Gadsden County schools and other districts offered better educational services. This decline in enrollment contributed to a $5 million reduction in the district's operating budget.

Exhibit 2-3 Although the Gadsden County School District's Total Revenues Increased by 12%, Its Operating (General Fund) Revenues Have Decreased 12% Over the Past Three Years

Fiscal Year

2000-01

2001-02

Revenue

General Fund

$42,391,460

$39,090,435

Special Revenue ? Food Services

3,311,513

3,648,919

Special Revenue ? Other

8,766,435

10,216,593

Debt Service Funds

261,663

256,967

Capital Projects Funds

4,041,889

12,310,363

Less Transfers

-46,800

0

From Capital Projects Funds

195,126

0

Total Revenue

$58,921,286

$65,523,277

Source: Gadsden County School District and Florida Office of the Auditor General.

2002-03 Budget

$37,500,000 3,450,000

10,000,000 260,000

15,000,000 0 0

$66,210,000

2 Member districts are those that fall below 10,000 students and have been invited to join the consortium by the board. Participating districts are larger districts, which may access PAEC services for a fee. Participating districts do not have a voting right on the board. Gadsden is a member district.

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The district's capital projects funds significantly increased from Fiscal Years 2000-01 and 2002-03 due to it building a new high school, East Gadsden High School, that is scheduled for completion in time for the 2003-04 school year. The district received funding to help build this high school from the state's Special Facilities Construction Account. 3 The district will pay approximately $4.5 million and the state will pay $25.2 million to build this new school.

Exhibit 2-4 Gadsden County School District Is Experiencing a Decline in Enrollment

Fiscal Year

2000-01

Full-Time Equivalent Student Enrollment 1

6,986.07

Percentage Change in Enrollment from Prior Year

2001-02

6,822.22

-2%

2002-03

6,584.29

-4%

Change from

2000-01 to 2002-03

-402

-6%

1 The numbers in this exhibit are full-time equivalent (FTE) students, which is a calculation of the number of students in certain programs for a school year or its equivalent. Most school district funding from the state is based on the number of FTE students. The number of students shown in this exhibit differs from the enrollment numbers shown in Chapter 1 and Chapter 4. The numbers in Chapters 1 and 4 are based on FDOE membership counts, which are essentially a headcount of the number of students.

Source: Gadsden County School District and Florida Department of Education.

The decline in enrollment has caused the Gadsden County School District to underutilize its school facilities. For example, as discussed in the background section of Chapter 7 (Facilities Construction), two of the district's senior high schools (Havana Northside High School and James A. Shanks High School), one combination school (Chattahoochee High School), and one elementary school (Havana Elementary School) use 55% or less of their capacity. One of its schools, Chattahoochee High School, has a 37% utilization rate. The majority of the district's facilities have utilization rates of less than 75% (see Exhibit 7-1 in Chapter 7).

Low facility utilization rates are an inefficient use of resources. School operating costs do not decline commensurately with a decrease in the number of students enrolled. The physical plant of schools must still be cleaned and maintained and heated and cooled. The district must provide a sufficient number of teachers, administrators (e.g., school principals), and programs to meet state curriculum requirements and the special needs of students.

To address problems resulting from aging facilities and underutilization, the district has established a long-range facilities plan to build new schools, close down schools that are underutilized and/or in poor condition, and consolidate students into newer and fewer schools. As discussed in more detail in Chapter 7, the district's plan includes building two new high schools and a new elementary school. The plan calls for consolidating students into the new schools and rearranging the current use of facilities so that six school sites can be closed and four can be converted to other uses. 4 In the long run, this plan will

3 The Special Facilities Construction Account of the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund was established by the Florida Legislature to enable school districts with insufficient capital resources to meet urgent educational facilities construction needs. A district is eligible to receive a grant funding the construction of a new school once every three years. In turn, the school district is required to have levied the maximum allowable capital outlay assessment under Florida law, 2 mills against property values, and pay back to the special facilities account an amount equal to 1.5 mills of the assessment every year for three years.

4 The school sites that would be closed are Midway Magnet School, Havana Northside High School, Chattahoochee High School, Greensboro Elementary, Gretna Elementary, and St. Johns Elementary. Carter Parramore Middle School would be converted to housing administrative personnel and alternative programs. Greensboro High School would be converted to accommodate Greensboro Elementary School. Shanks High School would be converted to accommodate Carter Parramore Middle School. Quincy Educational Academy would be partially renovated to accommodate the students currently housed in the relocatables comprising the Midway Magnet School.

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address the district's declining student enrollment and limited funding. By closing schools that are underutilized and/or in poor condition and replacing these schools with fewer and newer facilities, the district will consolidate responsibility for and reduce costs associated with school operations and maintenance. The district also should save on other costs such as salaries and benefits for principals, teachers, and support personnel.

However, recent changes in state law may require the district to address its underutilization of facilities sooner than outlined in its long-range plan. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2003-04, district school boards are required to allocate to each school 90% of the funds generated by the school from the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), including gross state and local funds, discretionary lottery funds, and funds from the district's current operating discretionary millage levy. FEFP funding is based upon enrollment FTEs, and is the primary source of funding for school districts. Consequently, schools that are under utilized/under capacity may have substantially higher operational costs than would be justified by their student enrollments, and state funds may not cover these costs. This may result in the district having to take such action as closing or consolidating the underutilized schools, or reducing non-core subject course offerings, unless the local community steps forward and helps support the school's non-instructional operations.

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